Second Baseman,
Chicago White Sox
Age: 31
10th
season with White Sox
Bats – Left,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’10” Weight: 160
Prior to 1959:
A native of St.
Thomas, Pennsylvania Jacob Nelson Fox (he went by his middle rather than first
name) was the son of a carpenter and hard-playing amateur second baseman.
Nicknamed “Pug” as a youth, Fox was drawn to soccer as well as baseball. He
played baseball in high school as well as American Legion ball. Following a
1944 spring training tryout, he signed with the Philadelphia Athletics at age
16. Assigned to the Lancaster Red Roses of the Class B Interstate League where
he played at first base and in the outfield, Fox batted .325 in 24 games before
moving on to Jamestown of the Class D PONY League where, in 56 games he hit
.304 with no home runs and 11 doubles. Back with Lancaster in 1945 he moved to
second base and batted .314 with 19 doubles, 19 triples, and one home run. Fox
spent 1946 in the military and upon his return to baseball in 1947 he was again
with Lancaster where he hit .281 in 55 games. He received a brief call-up to
the A’s and had a walk and no hits in four plate appearances. Fox was next assigned
to Lincoln of the Class A Western League in 1948 where he led the league with
179 hits and batted .311. Earning another late-season call-up to the A’s he hit
.154 in three games. Fox spent all of 1949 with the A’s as a backup to veteran
Pete Suder at second base and appeared in 88 games and batted .255.
Underwhelmed with his lack of production as a major league hitter, the A’s
traded him to the White Sox in the offseason. Initially backing up star second
baseman Cass Michaels in 1950, Fox moved into the starting lineup after
Michaels was dealt in May. He went on to hit just .247. Hardly a lock to make
the club in 1951, Fox, who was always known for his hustle, determination, and
enthusiasm, worked hard to improve his mechanics at second base as well as his
hitting technique and bunting (at which he became very adept). It all led to a
breakout year in which he batted .313 with 32 doubles, 12 triples, 4 home runs,
and 55 RBIs. He also was an All-Star for the first time. Sure-handed in the
field he became much more adept at turning double plays in combination with
shortstop Chico Carrasquel. The ”Mighty Mite” followed up by hitting .296 in
1952 while leading the AL in at bats (648) and hits (192) that included 25
doubles and 10 triples. In the field he led the league’s second basemen in
chances (852), put outs (406), and assists (433). In addition to being an
All-Star he finished seventh in AL MVP balloting. Typically seen with a chew of
tobacco tucked into his cheek, Fox was a durable and consistent performer who
remained a top player throughout the decade.
From 1951 to ’58 the spray-hitting Fox led the AL in hits four times,
with a high of 201 in 1954 and he was an All-Star during all eight seasons.
Defensively he led all AL second basemen in total chances and put outs seven
times and assists and double plays four times apiece. He picked up a new and
highly talented double play partner in shortstop Luis Aparicio in 1956. The
White Sox, who emphasized speed, defense, and pitching finished third five times
consecutively from 1952 to ’56 and second to the Yankees in 1957 and ’58.
1959 Season Summary
Appeared in 156
games
2B – 156
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 717 [1]
At Bats – 624
[1]
Runs – 84 [13]
Hits – 191 [2]
Doubles – 34 [2,
tied with Frank Malzone]
Triples – 6 [7,
tied with five others]
Home Runs – 2
RBI – 70
Bases on Balls
– 71 [11, tied with Rocky Colavito]
Int. BB – 8 [3,
tied with Rocky Colavito & Joe DeMaestri]
Strikeouts – 13
Stolen Bases – 5
Caught Stealing
– 6 [6, tied with Bill Tuttle & Earl Torgeson]
Average - .306
[4]
OBP - .380 [7]
Slugging Pct. -
.389
Total Bases – 243
[14]
GDP – 6
Hit by Pitches
– 7 [5, tied with Harmon Killebrew, Hector Lopez & Frank Bolling]
Sac Hits – 9
[9, tied with Jerry Lumpe, Cal McLish & Hal Brown]
Sac Flies – 5 [11,
tied with seven others]
League-leading
plate appearances were +31 ahead of runner-up Luis Aparicio
League-leading
at bats were +12 ahead of runner-up Luis Aparicio
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 1, RBI - 41, AVG - .330, OBP - .404
---
Most hits, game
– 5 (in 7 AB) at Detroit 4/10 – 14 innings
Longest hitting
streak – 16 games
HR at home – 0
HR on road – 2
Most home runs,
game – 1 (in 7 AB) at Detroit 4/10 – 14 innings, (in 4 AB) at Baltimore 6/13
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 5 at Kansas City A’s 4/22
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances - 827
Put Outs – 364
Assists – 453
Errors – 10
DP – 93
Pct. - .988
Postseason
Batting: 6 G (World Series vs. LA Dodgers)
PA – 28, AB – 24,
R – 4, H – 9, 2B – 3,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 4, IBB – 0, SO – 1, SB – 0, CS
– 1, AVG - .375, OBP - .464, SLG -.500, TB – 12, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF –
0
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
Gold Glove
All-Star (started
for AL at 2B in both games)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Nellie Fox,
ChiWS.: 295 pts. - 16 of 24 first place votes, 88% share
Luis Aparicio,
ChiWS.: 255 pts. – 8 first place votes, 76% share
Early Wynn,
ChiWS.: 123 pts. – 37% share
Rocky Colavito,
Clev.: 117 pts. – 35% share
Tito Francona,
Clev.: 102 pts. – 30% share
---
White Sox went 94-60
to win the AL pennant by 5 games over the Cleveland Indians, their first
pennant in 40 years. They led the league in triples (46), stolen bases (113)
& fewest batter strikeouts (634). The White Sox moved into first place for
good on July 28 but still had to fend off the Indians, solidifying their lead
with a late-August four-game sweep of Cleveland. Lost World Series to the Los
Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 2.
Aftermath of ‘59:
Fox followed up
with another typically strong season with the third place White Sox in 1960,
batting .289 and leading the AL in plate appearances (684), at bats (605), and
triples (10). He also led the league’s second basemen in chances (872), put
outs (412), assists (447), and double plays (126). His performance began to
drop off in 1961 at age 33 as his batting average fell to .251. His average
rose to .267 in 1962 and he had one last All-Star season with the White Sox in
1963 after which he was traded to the Houston Colt .45s. Fox hit .265 for
Houston in 1964 and, with the renamed Astros in 1965, he lost his starting job
to the up-and-coming Joe Morgan and was released in July, ending his playing
career. The scrappy overachiever batted .288 overall with 2663 hits that
included 355 doubles, 112 triples, and 35 home runs. He also accumulated 790
RBIs and scored 1279 runs. Rarely striking out (he only did so 216 times in
9232 at bats, with a season high of 18 in 1953), with the White Sox for 14
years he hit .291 with 2470 hits, including 335 doubles, 104 triples, and 35
home runs, as well as 740 RBIs and 1187 runs scored. He was a 15-time All-Star
and received three Gold Gloves. Following retirement as a player he coached for
the expansion Washington Senators/Texas Rangers. Fox died of cancer in 1975 at
age 47, 22 years before his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The White
Sox retired his #2.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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